Meter installation



- Sept. -E. T. HAGlsT METER INSTALLATION l Filed Deo. 2s, 193e 3 sheetssheet 1 Sept. 28, 1937.

E. T.A HAGIST METER INSTALLATION ATTOOIQNEY Patented Sept. 28, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METER INSTALLATION Emil T. Hagist, Glenside, Pa.

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a new and useful electric meter installation of the general type ernployed in measuring the amount of electrical energy consumed in industrial or domestic estab 5 lishments.

As is well known, it is sometimes necessary to test the meter to ascertain whether or not it is running slow or fast, and it is most desirable that the testing of the meter be not permitted to interrupt the service to the user particularly in View of the use of many electrical appliances such as clocks, cooking ranges and the like, which would make any interruption in service, no matter how momentary, inconvenient- It is also essential that an electric meter installation be such as to afford maximum ease and expediency in conducting the testing operation and to avoid the necessity of extensive disconnection or removing of parts before a test can be made.

It is also necessary that electric meter installations be such as to afford positive guarantee against jumpering of the circuit, that is, against the attempt of consumers to shunt the current around the meter and thus draw and use electrical energy without such energy passing through and being recorded on the meter.

With the above and other objects in View, my invention relates to a meter installation in which the meter itself, as well as a test block associated therewith, are mounted in a very accessible position on the front of the housing, commonly known as channel.

Y My invention still further relates to a meter in- ^stallation in which access to the test block can be had without removing or disconnecting the meter itself from the service lines, and without the necessity of opening the housing proper and exposing the busses or main feed lines.

My invention still further relates to a meter installation in which access to the interior of the channel, or to the busses extending therein or therethrough, can only be had after complete removal of the meter itself and the front cover on 45 which it is mounted.

My invention still further relates to a meter installation including novel means for supporting, in an adjustable manner and on the same housing or channel, electric meters of various 50 sizes.

My invention still further relates to an electric meter installation including novel means for effectively securing the busses in position and for making maximum andpositive electrical contact.

My invention still further relates to a meter installation including novel means for expeditiously and eifectively disconnecting the meter from the load without disconnecting the meter from the service line, all this being attained by the simple turning of a screw holding the con- 5 tacts in question in or out of contacting position.

My invention still further relates to a meter installation which lends itself to an assembly involving a plurality of channels or housings positioned side by side in contiguous relationship with the busses or feed lines running through the whole row or bank of channels without any material alteration of the structure of any channel unit or housing.

Furthermore, it has heretofore been the general practice to install the electric meter proper through an opening in the top of the housing or channel with the load lines supplying the energy passing through the sides or bottom of the channel or housing. Recent developments have resulted in a construction in which the electric 'meter is positioned on the. front face of the channel, said meter having backwardly extending prongs or contact elements which engage contact elements in the nature of knife-switches, or the 25 like, mounted within the channel and connected to the busses. At the present time there are many meters. in existence representing huge investments which are not ready to be discarded in favor of the recent developments referred to and d it is therefore an additional primary object of the present invention to produce a conversion housing or channel, that is, one which, while embodying all of the advantages of the front face mountings of the back-connected meters referred 35 to, is nevertheless capable of receiving and supporting the millions of meters now in existence, pending their retirement, my novel channel or housing being capable of being adapted by a very slight change and with minimum effort, to serve in connection with the new type meter when the present day meters in existence may, without undue loss, be retired at some future date.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 represents a perspective front view of a meter installation embodying my invention, with meter elements removed and parts of the housing open. p

Fig. 2 represents, on an enlarged scale, a section on liney 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents, on a reduced scale, a front elevation of a meter installation with the meter and the parts shown open in Fig. 1, being closed.

Fig. 4 represents a section, on an enlarged scale on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Vshell or casing by the screw 32.

Fig. 5 represents a view partly in plan, and partly in section, showing one of my novel bussretaining clamps forming part of my invention.

Fig. 6 represents a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 represents, onan enlarged scale, a view partly in section and partly in elevation of one Yof' the contact elements for disconnecting the Referring to the drawings in which like reference characters represent like parts and vmore particularly to Figs. 1 and 4 my novel installation comprises a channel or housing formed of the back wall 2, bottom wall ll, top wall 6, end walls 'i and the completely removable front face or cover 8, which is secured to a top lip or flange It! by any means I2. The removable cover 8 is provided with the flange Iii to which is secured at yI6 Vthe bracket I8 from which projects the bolt or screw 2i) held tight by the nut 22. The head of Vthe bolt 2@ is adapted to engage the upper or lower openings 2t and 26 in the connecting bracket 28 which is secured'to the back of a meter The meter shell or casing 3@ is provided with the tapped lugs .tI-i which are adapted to receive suitable threaded elements for securing the meter proper 36 (shown only in Fig. 3) in position. VWithin the Ychannel or housing is mounted a buss block 38 to which is secured the buss or service line retainingV brackets [i2 and l. The meter casing 3U has a bottom' housing extension ,QS which carries the conventional contacts generally employed for delivering electrical energy from the service lines into the meter and for conducting the electrical energy from the meter to the load lines leading to the point of consumption. The eXtension housing iS is provided with the top studs 48 which engage the slot 5@ of the sliding bracket 52,

the latterY alsoV having a slot 54 through which the slotted lug't on the side of the housing eX- tension d5 projects. 58 designates a hinged cover which incloses a test Vblock (hereinafter described) and has the pivoted latch 6I) the deflected end 62 of which passes through the slotted keeper 6d after the latter has passed through the slot 66 in the removable cover @t which incloses the meter terminals. A sealing mechanism such as the padlock lil, or the regular leadseal employed by utility companies in sealing the meter, is applied to the slot l2 Yin the deflected end t2 or the pivoted latch 5) thus completely sealing the :testing block, the meter terminals, the meter Vand the entire channel against any unauthorized tampering. in order to test the meter it is merely necessary to break the seal It and disengage the deflected end 52 of the latch 6@ from the slotted 1 keeper 35i whereupon the hinged cover 58 which encloses the test block may be swung open, as shown in Fig. l, without disturbing the meter or the removable cover 58. If access to the interior of the channel is desired, it will Ybe necessary to remove the cover $8 in additon to opening the hinged cover 58 whereupon the meter casing or shell VZ-II together with its extensionv 4t and the meter elementsecan be removed in an upward direction as Viewed in Figs. 1, 3 and 4,V it being understood that the connecting bracket 28 has rst been disengaged from the retaining screw 20. After the meter has been removed, the removable cover 8 can then be removed by disengaging a screw I2. Y Y

For testing a meter without interrupting the service it is desirable to provide means whereby the meter can be disconnected from the load lines Y leading to the point of consumption without being disconnected from the supply or service line,

the current having been previously shunted Y around the meter to the load lines. After this is accomplished, a Vphantom load or any other desired standard is applied to test the speed of the meterin the conventional well known manner. In order to facilitate and minimize the time and eifort in conductinga test, I have produced novel connecting devices, one of which is clearly illustrated in Fig. 7, and which comprises the terminal prong 'I4 which is vclamped by the meter terminal contact plates *I6 secured by the screwY 18. Through the bottom end of the prong I4 passes the screw BB the inner or rear end of which is provided with the stop 32.V The screw 80 also passes through the insulating bushing Bil, the reduced end of which ts in an opening 8S in the top of the bracket 88, the screw 30 being also provided with the fastening nut Si! which abuts.

against the upper portion of the bracket 88. n The lower portion of the bracket 88 is secured by the ing with the buss or service line I.' The buss` line |02 carried by the bracket M is connected to one of the meter terminals by the identical means and the identical manner just above de-V scribed in connection with the buss line IU, such as the parts 96, 8D, i4 andl, etc. To breakthe electrical Vconnection between either or both of the meter terminals and the busses IBB and H12, it is merely necessary to turn the screw 80 to the left thus'withdrawing the nut Si) from contact with the bracket 88 and thus breaking the connection between the particular prong It and the source of electrical energy and hence deenergizingtheV particular meter terminal, all as shown in dotted lines in Fig. '7. complete withdrawal of the screw S0.

Eachof the brackets l2 and dit, which support and insure maximum Contact with the busses IQ@ and IIlZ, and one of which is clearly illustrated in Fig. 6, is formed of U-'shape and has the openings I and |08. The buss is laid in the bottom of the U-shaped bracket and the clip I Ill,V

pivoted on the bolt I Id, is pressed down until the hooked ends VIIE thereof engage the upper or lower holesY ItY or IBB, according to the size ofV The stop 82 prevents' the buss, whereupon the turning of the inverted bolt I I4 to the right results, rst, in clamping the head of the bolt against thei buss in the bracket, and second, inmore firmly engaging the hooked ends IIE ofthe clip III! with the wallsof the respective openingsV |06 or IUS through which they areV inserted thereby preventing the walls of the bracket i2 from spreading when the cable buss is compressed by the bolt H4. For a large buss the clip is engaged in the upper holes Ipas shown, and for a smaller one the clip is engaged in the lower holes |08, it being understood that the spacing and the number of holes in the U- shaped brackets can be varied at will.

If it is desired to use my novel channels or housings in a roW to form a battery of installations, it is merely necessary to remove, or cut holes in, the end walls and as many busses or service lines as may be needed are passed through the successive channels to be connected to the particular meter mounted on the particular channel. In the construction illustrated I have Shown two additional buss-supporting brackets ||8 and |20, it being understood that any desired number can be employed.

While in Fig. 4 I have illustrated, in vertical section, a connection of one of the meter terminals to one of the service or buss lines by means of the novel prong assembly illustrated in Fig. '7, I have shown in Fig. 9 a diagrammatic view showing the four meter terminals with two terminals 80 and 80A connected to the busses |00 and |02 by means of the brackets 95 and 96X, and the other two terminals 80B and 80C not connected to the buss line, the terminals 80B and 80C being only connected to the load lines leading to the point of consumption so that the current enters the meter through the terminals 80 and 80A and emerges from the meter to the point of consumption through the terminals 80B and 80C. To electrically disconnect the meter from the busses and |02 it is merely necessary to turn the screws 80 and 80A to the left to.separate the contact 90 from the energized contact bracket 88. It, however, it is only desired to conduct a test, the current is shunted around the meter tol insure uninterrupted service toI the consumer and the meter may then be disconnected from the load lines leading to the point of consumption by turning to the left the corresponding screws 80B and 80C. This breaks the contact between the meter and the load lines but leaves the meter connected to the service lines. A phantom load or other standard is then applied to measure the amount of current passing through the meter and thus gage the accuracy of the meter.

It Will thus be seen that I have produced a novel channel or housing in which I have greatly facilitated the operation of connecting and disconnecting the meter and that by my providing of buss-supporting brackets 42, 44, etc., I have greatly facilitated the fastening of the busses in place and greatly improved the electrical contact. It will also be seen that no access whatsoever to the terminals or the buss lines can be had without first breaking the seal thus insuring positively against the theft of current, and that by provision of the hinged cover 58 the test block is immediately exposed Without disruption of service and without excessive dismantling or removal of the parts.

It is also to be noted that by making provision in my novel channel for mounting the meter on the face of the channel, I have devised a con- Version cabinet which is adapted for use in connection with the present day meters which are normally applied to the housing through a hole in the top thereof, and that I have produced a cabinet for use in connection with the newly developed back-connected meter, since, in order to utilize this new type of meter, it is merely necessary to provide a hole in the front cover 8 of my improved channel and provide the usual switches within the channel.

While I have shown and described a meter installation particularly adapted for use in connection with the present day meters and also adapted for conversion for use in connection with the more modern back-connected meters, it is to be understood that the design may be varied in its details to accommodate any desired style of meter that may now or in theL future be used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An electric meter installation comprising an open-faced trough, service lines disposed therein, a closure for the front of said trough, a meter assembly and a test block assembly, means for electrically connecting said assemblies to said service lines, and means for securing said assemblies on the outside of said closure, whereby said assemblies are rendered accessible without disturbing said trough or said closure.

2. An electric meter installation comprising a trough having an open front, service lines disposed therein, a closure for said open front having an aperture therein and constituting a support for meter and test block assemblies, means for securing said assemblies to the outside of said closure, and means for electrically connecting said assemblies to said service lines through said aperture, whereby said assemblies are rendered accessible without disturbing said trough or said closure.

3. In an electric meter installation adapted for use in conjunction with bottom-connected or back-connected meter assemblies and test block assemblies, an open-faced, pre-assembled trough having service lines disposed therein, a closure for the open face of said trough, having an aperture therein, meter and test block assemblies, means for electrically connecting said assemblies to said service lines through said apertures, and means for securing said assemblies on the outside of said closure, whereby said assemblies are rendered interchangeable without disturbing said trough or said closure.

EMIL T. HAGIST. 

